U.S. Open First Round Resumes at Bethpage
The rush to get a full weekend of golf in begins
By JOSH ALPER
Updated 9:52 AM EDT, Fri, Jun 19, 2009
Round One at Bethpage resumed on a wet-but-playable course this morning.
Play began in driving rain on Thursday morning, but the accumulation of water all over Bethpage Black made the course unplayable by 10 a.m. or so. There was standing water all over the course, but the USGA brought in helicopters to help dry the course for play on Friday morning.
Their efforts worked and the 78 players who were on the course when play was halted on Thursday resumed their rounds around 7:30 a.m. The players who hadn't teed off on Thursday are set to get underway at 10 a.m., and they'll immediately start playing the second round when they complete their first 18 holes. There aren't tee times set for the players who were supposed to start play in the second round on Friday afternoon.
The biggest losers on Thursday are the fans who took the day off work or scheduled vacations to take in the day at Bethpage. The USGA will not refund or exchange their tickets for another day, simply because one player teed off on Thursday morning. It's tough spot to allow exchanges because there's a finite amount of space for spectators, but you'd think there'd be at least a partial refund considering it was only a partial round of golf.
As of 9:30 a.m., Graeme McDowell led the field at two under par through 14 holes. Ben Martin is one under thru eight holes and five players are at even par, including Justin Leonard.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.
Copyright NBC Local Media
First Published: Jun 18, 2009 1:10 PM EDT on NBC New York
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